Clinkle, an intriguing startup with roots at Stanford, thinks it has a new way replace cash, credit cards and checks, TechCrunch reports in a profile of the company.
The company’s app, which allows simple peer-to-peer electronic payments between just about anyone, apparently works by communicating with other mobile devices, PCs and smart cash registers via high-frequency sound emitted by smartphone speakers.
That approach is intended to let Clinkle make an end-run around established point-of-sale systems, which have presented an entrenched obstacle to competing mobile electronic-payment efforts. The startup just raised $25 million in a first round of venture funding.
